Bhubaneswar: Three Rajya Sabha candidates were elected unopposed from Odisha as no candidate from Opposition parties filed the nomination.
They were all declared elected unanimously by the Returning officer.
Elections were necessitated following three vacancies in the Upper House.
Former BJD MLA Debasish Samantray and youth leader Subhasish Khuntia filed nomination from the BJD while BJP named Railway Minister Aswini Vaishnaw for the Rajya Sabha.
Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik picked Debasish Samantray from BJD to go to Delhi and raise voice for the state. Samantaray is the BJD’s district unit president of Cuttack.
Similarly, the popular young face in Puri district politics, Subhashish Khuntia, has also got Naveen’s consent to secure a berth in the Upper House. Khuntia is currently the vice president of Biju Yuva Janata Dal.
BJP again nominated Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the third seat from the State. But, the BJP did not have enough numbers for Ashwini’s victory. The BJD announced its support to the BJP candidate for the larger interest of the state. Through a press release, the party announced its support for the massive development in railway and telecom sectors Odisha.
Earlier, Aswini also secured a Rajya Sabha berth with the support of BJD.
